My New Personal Trainer?

 Yummy lunch salad only one weekly point on "Simply Filling"

Thursday is the first day of the week for my Weight Watchers tracker. That means that Thursday is, ideally , weigh-in day and the day my 49 points a week for treats or to add to days I have the munchies reset. I’ve been having troubles with fluctuating losses and gains battling with steroids, depression and lately just sheer frustration and the wintertime blues. When I said “diet program,” when I was in counseling the doctor asked me which “diet plan?” She smiled when I said Weight Watchers and told me it was the only answer that would have been acceptable. Weight Watchers is paying attention to and balancing the real food you eat anyway, adding or subtracting to obtaining that balance. Diets with prepackaged food or regimens that leave out your favorites are recipes for defeats that risk mental health as well.

Weight Watchers points system is customizable. There is no food that is considered an “off limits” food and exercise routine is required. One of the program styles that’s a little more strict is called “Simply Filling. With Simply Filling you eat until you are full, but from a list of “power foods;” fat free dairy, fresh vegetables and fruits and lean meats without added fat. You still get 49 bonus points a week, but those points are used for low fat instead of fat-free cheese, the required healthy oils for balance or shake and bake coating on a pork chop. (planned dinner for David and me this weekend) So, it’s a little more strict on food choices, but some have found it very successful and it is very similar to the way I eat anyway, minus the chocolate. So I’ve decided to kick-restart myself using the Simply Filling plan for 2 weeks. After that initial 2 weeks, I’m going to alternate between a week on the Simply Filling plan and a week on the regular points plan. That means I’ll get my double scoop waffle cone every other week instead of every week. By alternating weeks on the different plans I should be mixing it up enough to confuse my metabolism into working harder. We’ll see how it works.

Now the personal trainer I was talking about? Well, remember that it’s not a WW requirement to have an activity routine, but it is encouraged through extra point that can be earned, “activity points,” to add extra food points to your food budget. Well, how much exercise am I able to get in a power chair? Marco to the rescue!

We often joke about Marco being part lots of other animals, including part dog in that he eats everything he finds on the floor and he also plays fetch! He has purple and green jingly balls like that one in the picture. When he wants to play he brings David the ball and David tosses it for him. He keeps bringing it back, just like a dog playing fetch! As long as Daddy throws it, he keeps bringing it back. Well just this morning, he brought the ball to me. It didn’t take him too long to figure out just where he needs to put the ball so I can bend over, reach for it and pick it up to throw it for him. I don’t know if it’s worth any activity points, but after a few times I can feel the end, reach, throw, repeat. Even a little movement from a wheelchair is a good thing, right?